ZAYN is a British pop and R&B singer from Bradford, England. Born Zain Javadd Malik in 1993, he grows up in a working-class part of West Yorkshire and studies performing arts and stage production at Tong High School, where he also appears as Danny Zuko in a school production of Grease.

One Direction

He first comes to prominence in 2010, when he auditions for The X Factor as a solo contestant. He is later brought back with other solo auditionees to form One Direction, a five-member group that finishes third in the competition. The band signs to Syco Records and releases an album each year from 2011 to 2014. Zayn leaves the group in March 2015, after their final appearance together in Hong Kong during the On the Road Again Tour, and Four is the last One Direction album to feature him.

Solo career

After leaving One Direction, he signs to RCA Records and moves to Los Angeles to begin solo work. His debut single, “Pillowtalk,” appears in 2016 and reaches number one on the Billboard charts. His first solo album, Mind of Mine, also arrives in 2016 and tops the Billboard 200. Later that year he releases “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” a collaboration with Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff that appears on the soundtrack to Fifty Shades Darker.

Subsequent releases

His second studio album, Icarus Falls, appears in 2018 and includes 27 tracks. It contains six earlier singles, and the songs “Dusk Till Dawn” with Sia and “Still Got Time” with PartyNextDoor are initially included only on the Japanese edition before later being added to streaming versions internationally. In 2020 he releases “Better” as the lead single from Nobody Is Listening, followed by “Vibez” as the album’s second single. He describes that album as his most personal project.

Style and background

Zayn is known for pop and R&B, and his solo work moves toward an alt-R&B sound. He is a mixed-race Pakistani-English Muslim, and his upbringing in Bradford is described as involving several primary school changes. He begins recording music after leaving his group and later lives in Pennsylvania while working independently.